The Ternopil State Regional Archives began operating on November 1, 1939, the day when the law concerning the joining of Western Ukraine to the USSR. The Dominican monastery was than adapted as an archival depository. After establishment of the Ternopil Region in USSR on December 4, 1939, the Ternopil State Regional Archives were renamed as the Ternopil Regional Historic Archive. From 1941 it was known as the State Archive of Ternopil Region. The most important documents of the State Archive of Ternopil Region were evacuated from during the World War II, the main part was left on site, leading to irreversible losses. At the beginning of July 1941 Ternopil and Ternopil Region temporarily became part of the district of Halychyna. When German troops retreated, occupying forced turned the of archives` premises into a defensive building. It was calculated that only 72 funds (533813 collection items) remained from 123 funds (924166 collection items), which were recorded on January 1, 1941. The State Archive of Ternopil Region resumed its work after the liberation of Ternopil in April, 1944 by Soviet troops. Organisation of activity of archive service of the region was completed in 1947. Its official name since 1958 is Ternopil Regional State Archive, and since 1980 it is the State Archive of Ternopil Region.

The funds of the Archive of the pre-1939 period consist of documents from the Sacred Cathedral of the Assumption Lavra at Pochayiv (1557-1939), copies of Russian, Austrian and Prussian official acts, which relate to the first division of Poland, copies of the decrees of Empress Katherine II, concerning joining of the regions to the Russian Empire as the result of the second and third divisions of Poland (1793-1795), the Manifesto of Austrian Empress Maria-Teresa, concerning joining of the part of Polish Kingdom to Austria, copies of credentials of Polish King August II, decrees and orders of the Volyn Sacred Consistory, copy Suvorov’s reports concerning victory over French troops (1799), orders of Warsaw-Kholm and Volyn Sacred Consistories (1834), a document giving permission to Taras Shevchenko to sketch the Lavra and local countrysides (1846), documents associated with thecollection funds to construct monuments to Khmelnytskyy and Kutuzov, protocols of meetings of the Sacted Sobor (1840-1925), documents concerning typography, statistical data about Lavra, its premises, enterprises and landholdings, revision registers of serfs (1833).

The Volyn Orthodox Sacred Consistory fund (1918-1919) contains resolutions concerning organisation of archive administration in Kremenets in 1920 and the renaming of Volyn Diocesan Council to Volyn Sacred Consistory and also concerning legal status of Orthodox Church in Poland, along with lists of clergy.

The Ternopil Municipal Council fund (1784-1918) contains protocols of meetings of members of the Municipal Council, information about the quantity of hospitals, shops, stations in Ternopil, documents about the history of the city of Ternopil, census of population and its material status (1851-1917) etc.

The funds of the Ternopil Povit Finance Directorate for Halych District (1826-1910) contain plans and cadastral maps of villages and towns of the Region.

The Archive also preserves funds of the Kremnets Roman Catholic Deanery of the hubernia of Volyn, the Orthodox parish administrations of the Kremenets povit in the hubernia of Volyn, and the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic parish administrations of the Berezhany, Chortkiv and Ternopil areas of Halych District.

The fund of Ternopil Voievod administration (1920-1939) includes documents about the economy and social and political life of the Ternopil region. The funds of the Povit Wardenship (1919-1939) includes protocols of meetings of wardens, reeves, and district boards, economic and geographical descriptions of the districts, lists of industrial, trade and commercial establishments etc. The cultural life of that time is described in the documents of the Krements, Terebovlia and Ternopil branches of the Prosvita Society.

Among the funds of Soviet period, those of the Ternopil RegionExecutive Committee (1939-1941, 1944-1978), Statistic Administration of Ternopil Region(1945-1975), Department of Health Protection (1944-1960), Administration of Culture (1953-1981) are worthy of notice. They contains documents concerning the activities and quantity of different economic enterprises, the state of health protection and culture, the activities of commercial organisations and enterprises, consumer service, capital and communal housing construction etc.

The fund of the Security Service of Ukraine administration in Ternopil Region (1941-1953) contains the cases of repatriated citizens, captured cases about servicemen who were in Nazi captivity, and also criminal extrajudicial cases of citizens who were repressed in 1939-1941 and 1944-1950 but are now rehabilitated.

The collection of documents from the former Communist party archives consists of funds of regional committees, municipal committees, district committees of Communist Party and Lenin Komsomol Society of Youth of Ukraine, initial Party and Komsomol organisations, the political departments of regional military committee, the Ministry of Transport, railways, the political sector of regional administration of agriculture and others.

The archive preserve a great number of personal funds of famous people in the fields of culture and the arts, scientists and other public figures who where born in the region.

Great steps were taken in the period 1991-2006 to declassify documents. 156 funds of 35963 of collection items were declassified at that time.

The funds of somepre-1939 establishments and others from the wartime occupational period (1941-1944) have became the part of the general funds and made available to public. The post-1939funds of Ternopil Regional and District Executive Committees, the commissioner on cases of religious denominations at the Council of Ministries of USSR for Ternopil Region and the commissioner on matter pertaining of the Orthodox Church and the Regional Department of Health Protection have also been declassified.

Film and Video documents (1961-2004), which are preserved in the state archives of the region reflect the first steps of establishing Ukraine as an independent state in the Ternopil Region, the cultural and political life of the city, social and legal problems, celebrations of anniversaries and events in our region.

Photo documents (1905-2000) show the history, social and economic, social and political life in the region. They include negatives, concerning historical facts of 1905-1939, the activity of Halychyna Revolutionary Committee (1920), perpetuation of memory of champions for the freedom of Ukraine, the courage and heroism of the soldiers of Soviet Army, participants of liberation events of OUN-UPA (1941-1952),of the damage caused by wartime occupants to the national economy of the region, of the main events of the periods of reconstruction of the national economy, of the development of industry, agriculture, culture, education and health protection, of international relations with Germany, Bulgaria, Poland and Canada, of the celebration of important events and anniversaries, of the holdings of elections to the local councils, international and republic sport competitions, architectural monuments of the Ternopil Region, views of cities and towns, villages, streets, views of the region.

Sound recordings preserved at the archives reflect formal events in the life of the Ternopil Region and include recordings ofreminiscences of participants of World War II.